Press

SOUTHBOROUGH, MA – AUGUST 20, 2001 – ITworld.com, a unit of IDG and a leading producer of broadband interactive marketing solutions, announced today that IBM will be presenting a series of webcasts to highlight the benefits of its new WebSphere software platform. WebSphere is Internet infrastructure software that enables companies to develop, deploy and integrate next-generation e-business applications. The webcasts were produced and delivered using the ITworld.com ITwebcastTM broadband content delivery platform, and are now available on demand at:

http://www.itworld.com/jpitw/release/itwebcast/IBM_WebSphere/

Each webcast highlights a specific aspect of the WebSphere software platform which provides an e-business infrastructure that is flexible, extensible and robust. Attendees of these highly interactive eLearning programs will hear several speakers discuss the many options developers have in order to gain a complete understanding of all of the products within the WebSphere developer solution — from Web publishing through enterprise-scale transaction processing. Speakers include Kyle Brown, Java Architect, IBM Americas; Brian Garr, Program Manager, Advanced Technologies, IBM Voice Systems; and Suneeti Sood, Object Oriented Technology Customer Consultant, IBM Canada, among others. Each will provide professional insight while demonstrating different aspects and features for viewers. IBM is also offering a free WebSphere trial code CD-ROM in conjunction with this series.

"The webcast medium will give viewers an opportunity to conveniently learn the many important features of the WebSphere software platform, in order to create and sustain a competitive advantage," said Craig Flannagan, of IBM's Worldwide Software Marketing Team. "Producing this webcast series on ITworld.com's advanced webcast platform – as well as making it accessible on-demand 24 hours a day – gives our customers the ability to focus on only the information that's most critical to them."

The highly interactive ITwebcast platform includes support for high-resolution video and audio, slide and web page presentations, video search functionality, multi-language transcripts, an interactive Q&A capability, and numerous other resources designed to provide an engaging viewer experience. The ITwebcast player only requires that viewers have Real Player or Windows Media Player installed on their systems. For a complete demonstration of the ITwebcast player capabilities, go to: http://www.itworld.com/itwebcast/

"More and more of today's major IT corporations like IBM are discovering that their core customers – enterprise IT professionals – are embracing the webcast medium as an important learning tool. Webcasts provide the information, education and training they need to overcome the tough challenges that arise daily in today's corporate computing environment," said ITworld.com President and CEO Bill Reinstein. "Viewers of IBM's webcasts will have easy access to technical presentations by key experts in the developer community, bringing to life a wide a variety of software integration issues and solutions."

Since launching last year, ITworld.com has become a pioneer in broadband programming for the IT community, producing successful webcasts for other major technology companies, including Microsoft, F5 Networks, Nortel, Sprint, Intel and others. ITworld.com's new ITwebcast platform and complementary services enable companies to reach highly targeted audiences, capture new business, reduce cost-per-lead, save time and eliminate the travel costs associated with in-person events, road shows and seminars.

About ITworld.com

ITworld.com is an online publisher of news and educational content for the IT community, including daily news, topic specific newsletters, vendor white papers, and a wide variety of broadband programming. ITworld.com delivers measurable, performance-based results for IT marketers by building customized lead generation programs around the distribution of content. Pioneering the next generation of IT information delivery, ITworld.com is "changing the way you view IT."

ITworld.com is a business unit of IDG, the world's leading IT media, research, and exposition company. IDG publishes more than 300 magazines and newspapers. IDG is also a leading producer of 168 computer-related expositions worldwide, and provides IT market analysis through 51 offices in 43 countries worldwide. Company information is available at http://www.idg.com.